Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit with African leaders in St Petersburg that Russia is able to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa.
He said that Moscow would be ready to start supplying grain for free to six African countries within three to four months.
He named the countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea and said they would get 25,000-50,000 tonnes each.
Russia is also ready to work with African countries on development of their finances to use regional currencies for settlements, President Putin added.
The Russia-Africa Summit is the second of its kind after an inaugural one held in 2019 in Sochi, southern Russia.
Putin is expected to conduct bilateral talks with his counterparts on the sidelines and deliver an address at the plenary session.
The latest move on grain comes after Russia exited a crucial deal that allowed for exports of grain from Ukraine.
Under the landmark deal facilitated by Türkiye, more than 33 million tonnes of grain was shipped from Ukrainian ports, helping to stabilise global food prices and avert shortages.
Bilateral talks
Russia has sought to reassure African partners, saying it understands their "concern" on the issue and is ready to export grain for free to African countries that need it.
Putin will also discuss Ukraine during a working lunch with a group of African heads of state on Friday, the Kremlin has said.
Putin has already held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday, praising their joint energy projects.
The summit in Saint Petersburg comes a month ahead of a summit of leaders of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) due to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
South Africa has said that Putin, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant relating the conflict with Ukraine, will not be attending in person.
